Launch Your Weekend at First Friday

It’s the first Friday of the month! That means downtown Raleigh will be popping off and erupting with opportunity for artistic exposure. Head out for a foodie fix, grab drinks, and then wander the streets alongside other art-heads craving a healthy after-hours dose of creativity. Most downtown galleries will stay open extra late tonight, and many will be hosting a reception or other event in honor of a new exhibition opening.

Steer course towards one of my favorite downtown areas, the warehouse district and pop into The Visual Art Exchange on Martin Street. The hip, non-profit gallery and artist association hosts a new exhibition each month in its main gallery. Last month’s show Bits + Bytes cycles out tonight, making way for August’s Monochrome, which features work containing or using only one color. Don’t forget to explore The Cube, featuring experimental and installation art. Tonight artists Kiki Farish and Lauren Kennedy, whose work is featured in The Cube, will participate in an Artists Talk beginning at 6:30.

Also check out Flanders Gallery right down the street at the intersection of Martin and S. West Streets. Flanders’ previous exhibition Make Ends Meet resulted in the entire outer gallery being covered in a multi-colored, camouflage shell of crocheted yarn. The show shut down last week, making way for a new exhibition opening this evening. Terrains of Absencewill feature prints and photographs by Mark Iwinski. Stop by the gallery between 9:30pm and 11:45pm to peruse the works and hear the sweet tunes of musical group Muhsinah, which will perform a gallery concert hosted by The Art of Cool Project.

For a full list of venues and events check out the First Friday website. See you DT tonight!